Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti will start Randal Kolo Muani and Nick Woltemade together for Thursday’s Europa League match against Rennes.
The two forwards joined Juventus this summer. Kolo Muani completed a permanent transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, while Woltemade arrived from Newcastle United on a season-long loan.
Kolo Muani has scored three goals this season, one more than Woltemade, and both players were on target in Juventus’ 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo in their most recent Europa League fixture.
Woltemade has scored in each of his two Europa League appearances for Juventus. If he scores against Rennes, he will become only the third player to find the net in his first three appearances for the club in major European competition, after Darko Kovacevic in 1999 and Roberto Baggio in 1990.
The Germany international said after the win against Celta Vigo that he wanted to play alongside Kolo Muani. That partnership was not used in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat by Lazio, but Spalletti has now confirmed the pair will begin Thursday’s match.
Kolo Muani said the manager’s confidence and guidance had helped him prepare for the game.
“In football, it’s important that the coach trusts you. The coach gives me valuable advice to keep going beyond my limits,” he said.
The France international added that he was comfortable playing alongside any member of the squad and that the players were given responsibility to apply the manager’s instructions on the pitch.
“I’m very comfortable playing with any team-mate. In training, we work on what the coach asks us to do, but we know it’s then up to us to put it into practice, and we also have the freedom to take responsibility,” said Kolo Muani.
Juventus have won their past four home matches in major European competition, scoring 12 goals and conceding two. Their longest home winning sequence in those competitions was six matches, achieved between November 2020 and December 2021.
The Italian side and Rennes have met once before, in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup final. Juventus won 4-2 on aggregate, following a 2-0 home victory and a 2-2 draw away.
Kolo Muani expects Rennes to present a serious challenge but hopes another strong performance will improve his international prospects.
“Rennes will come here looking to win,” he said. “We won our first two matches, and we’ll try to win the third as well. Of course, I hope that performing well here will also help me return to the national team.”
